The odds continue to pile up against defending champion Rafael Nadal. After a summer in which the Spaniard lost his No. 1 ranking, dealt with a bum foot, burnt two fingers and really played pretty poorly, Nadal now faces having to win four 5-set match over the next five days if he is to defend his title.

Can Rafa really manage such a schedule? I don’t think so.

Nadal’s match with Gilles Muller was scheduled for Tuesday, but because rain that match is pushed to today and if he wins he’ll have to play his quarterfinal against either Andy Roddick or David Ferrer tomorrow. Then the semifinals Saturday and finals Sunday, possibly over Murray and Djokovic back-to-back.

While the rains hurt Nadal and maybe Andy Murray who’ll also face a similar daily schedule, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who are already in the quarterfinal round are sitting pretty. Sort of.

Djokovic, if he gets his match in, will play good friend Janko Tipsarevic and even though Janko is playing terrific tennis I don’t think Novak will be troubled and could get two day of rest before a big final weekend push. Needless to say. this event is really setting up nicely for the Djokovic.

For Federer, however, it’s different. I though yesterday that JW Tsonga has a great shot at a third straight win over Federer this summer. If the match goes as planned and uninterrupted under the lights tonight I think the Frenchman pulls off the upset again.

But if the rains return and their match gets stopped or pushed back until tomorrow or later, I like Federer. Roger should be able to handle the mental challenges of dealing with elements better than Tsonga. So maybe for Federer the rain, the weather the overall uncertainty will help.

As for the early matches, I still like Murray over Donald Young, Nadal over Muller and I make Simon a very slight favorite over Isner.

In the match of the afternoon, Andy Roddick and David Ferrer collide on Armstrong stadium. Roddick doesn’t play much on that court – in fact he hasn’t since 2002 – which I’m sure Andy isn’t happy about. So that should light a fire under the explosive 29-year-old but I still like Ferrer in this one. The heavier, wet air should help Ferrer just enough to get through.

Tsonga ain’t gonna upset Fed. If Roger _lets_ him play like he did in the fifth set vs Fish, maybe, but Fish showed that energetic play was enough to go 50/50 for four sets. And Roger is a lot better than Mardy. I just don’t see it happening. It might be a really, really tight match, but Fed should come out the other side.

Anyway, I really came here to say: Rafa is playing really unbelievable. Muller was hitting some amazing shots in those rallies but Rafa always got them back, with interest. Okay, well, now he has just dropped serve to love, that’s not so good (?? nerves??), but I expect him to get it back in about ten seconds.

Alison, exactly, even if Muller somehow goes up 4-0, this set – let alone the match – isn’t over. I’m not actually at all surprised Muller is up a bit (unlike the so-called “experts” I understand that even players who are not famous can play well), if I recall correctly he was also up break(s) the last time he played Rafa a few months ago. This was always going to be tight for at least one or two of the sets; if Muller can actually grab this first set his chances of winning the match only rises from like 5% to about 15% though.

I completely agree with Alison on this one. There is no chance of a Sunday finish. Best thing would benign somehow they complete the remaining round 16 today. Have the quarters on Friday, semi finals on Sunday and then final on a tuesday. There would be no difference between a Monday and Tuesday finish at all-EXCEPT that it would benfait on everyone that way.

the schedule, imho, will in no way affect nadal. hes so fit that he will not have a problem. i would luv 2c roger pull this out, but unfortunately i think nadal is going 2win another major & get that much closer 2 federer’s record. nadal-djokovic final. nadal wins–thats my prediction.

@brando last year i remember staying up to watch the final till the wee small hours of the morning,and having to go work the next day with matchsticks practically propping my eyelids open,and believe me running around in a care home aint alot of fun when your knackered,still it was worth it to see rafa win the title and complete a career grand slam,however im digressing things could be even worse this year as andy,rafa possibly having to play three matches all back to back,it isnt fair,however it is what it is,i dont really see what can be done about it.

They went together. That’s good. Collective action. Sent out to play in drizzle knowing they’d only have 20 minutes to play. That’s bad. One of the richest nations on earth, get a roof. If not on Ashe, one of the smaller stadiums.
fed is afraid said “give it to the Chinese.” She has a point……or Wimbledon…oh hang on…

@brando yes i aree this weather is not doing rafa or andy any favours i admit,however both are strong,especially rafa whos the strongest mentally of probably all the male players out there,remember rafas semi final marathon match against verdasco in 2009,to be fare i thought verdasco should have won that match,but shear guts and determination got rafa through,also the next day i didnt think for a minute that he would go on and beat a much fresher and more rested federer,how very wrong i was again,rafas rafa and will give 100 percent no matter what,if he wins the title it will be through blood,sweat and tears,shear determination and bloody mindedness if not then no one can ever accuse him of not trying his best,hope springs eternal,life is full of surprises so dont write him off just yet.

fed is afraid, let’s not let economic and political opinions contaminate the discussion on this forum. But if you want to know why what you’re saying is incorrect, I can suggest this, for example (a couple of hrs of your time and might just be the biggest revelation you’d ever have about how our economy works):http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf

thanks stu i live in the uk so im relying on everyone on this forum filing me in,ironically its not raining here though for a change,tell me is there likely to be any play today ,or tonight in my case,its 10.51pm uk time,i was wondering is it worth me staying up and waiting,or am i wasting my time and should go to bed,come midnight.

What are they going to do now? Play 4th tommorrow, qtrs Friday, semi’s sunday and final Tuesday would be best I feel. Forgot the tv audience- super Saturday and final Sunday is gone now, best please te grumpy players by providing a fair schedule. At the end of tourny the USTA or whoever funds the slam should look to immediately start planning for a roof on Arthur Ashe stadium- it’s urgently needed after 3 late finishes!!!!

Brando, I wonder if they will leave a day between the semifinals and finals as you suggest, since the US Open has never done that before, unless it is due to rain on the actual finals day. Weather permitting, they could do as follows:

That means only the R16 / QFs would be played back to back for the men’s bottom half, and they’ve now had extra recovery time, due to the rain delays yesterday and today. It would still allow the tournament to end on Monday, just like last year.

—————————————
re: global warming – no doubt about it. We have had a cool relatively wet summer, and now it is raging warm in September. Climates/species are confused. All rather sad. :/

While it is only misting currently at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the forecast indicates worsening conditions with no projected breaks in the rain through the remainder of the evening.

Due to this forecast, the USTA is canceling the Wednesday, September 7, Night Session (session #20). Play will resume tomorrow, Thursday, September 8, at 11 a.m., weather permitting.

Ridiculous! Where the hell is a roof, just put one or two roofs over court 1 and 2 and atleast get some matches out of the way especially for the men.. Weather can screw up a players chances(has in the past) and the standard of play is crappier cause everyone’s tired come finals.

You can pretty much count Rafa and Murray out of the race for US open going to be nearly impossible!

or, skeezer, “book it!” ;) Seriously, though, that’s exactly what I was thinking when Gilbert was blathering on; there is no way they will force these guys to play 4 matches, best of five sets, back to back to back to back. That would be nutters.

This year’s US Open is a wash out. It has brought into fore the infrastructural constraints at Flushing Meadows. When other Majors have made arrangements to tackle the rough weather, it is shocking that the US Open Authorities have not even bothered to get into the issue. Ofcourse there are some structural constraints, but yet they should look at ways and means to cover the Court by a canopy or in the worst case look for an indoor court near the vicinity. It is ridiculous that two days play has been lost due to bad weather. Imagine the negative impact it will have on the players, sponsors and spectators. Building a cover is not too heavy a price to pay and there are engineering experts who will nail the issue.

Rain is forecasted for tomorrow also, which will make it even more difficult for the USO scheduling.

What’s amazing is that the rain was in the weather forecast all week, especially for Monday night, and the organizers didn’t even attempt to rearrange the schedule. They could have had Nadal, Murray, Roddick and Ferrer play Monday night matches, even though they played on Sunday, then the QFS would have been in place and the players would all get an equal amount of days off, 2, to be exact. Now everything is a mess with one half in the QFs and the other still waiting to play R16 matches.

Agreed and to make matters worse for even a monday final, or any play going into Monday eve competes with the opening season of …Football, the biggest watched sports in America. The USTA knows thsi way before hand but refuses to plan for the “plan b”. Sucks for us, for the game, tennis sponsors, and for the players.

skeezer, If you backtrack to last Sunday, the USTA had doubts they would even have play on Monday. They had to cancel Kids day on Sunday. Any logical minded group would be prompted to do things differently, considering they got a weather reprieve for Monday. Nah, not the brilliant USTA and TV group. They just merrily continued on oblivious of the inevitable, that the forecast said rain, and the rain would come, and it did come.

I think the bottom half should have begun play on Tuesday, and all the courts should have been used to the maxiimum. I’m sure the players wouldn’t have minded playing on different courts, and the top players didn’t all have to play on Ashe, and I’m positive the the crowd would have understood, and wouldn’t have minded being shuffled to different courts. They had to stand for two hours on Monday evening to wait for the day crowd to leave, to watch the night session. that alone proves the crowd is more flexible thant the USTA, CBS and ESPN.

The problem is a simple one, the TV stations can’t be asked to upset their treasured soap opera schedule, nor could Mike and Mike, Poker tournaments, and sportsCenter be put on a different ESPN channel. Everything had to go on as usual, except the USO. Who got inconvenienced and screwed, the players and the fans? USTA has made their money, as well as ESPN and CBS. I’m angry coz these poor guys are now taking the brunt of it all.

The biggest blunder of Tournament Authorities was to call off play prematurely on Tuesday believing the weather report. Infact, it stopped raining after an afternoon spell and for most of the day it remained dry. Play was certainly possible especially in the night. But in their own wisdom, they pressed the panic button and called off play. Of all the majors, the US Open is the worst in terms of infrastructure, umpires, and even the scheduling of matches which is heavily commercialized. In 2009, one might recall they even cut short Del Potro’s speech and denied his pleasure of his speaking on a momentous occasion when he won his first major due to TV Commercials. Such is the US Open Authorities who are totally money minded and perverted. Things should definitely change for the better. If not, US Open should be downgraded to Masters level.

Great points sb66, have always said, when in doubt….follow the money :( …and in this case…tack on a whole lotta greed with the money that made idiotic decisions that coulda woulda shoulda. Thanks Mr. Early….errr rather Mr. Late!

Whether or not the organizers have optimally handled the weather, calling off play when the forecast shows rain for the rest of the day is logical and reasonable.

“Of all the majors, the US Open is the worst in terms of infrastructure, umpires, and even the scheduling of matches which is heavily commercialized.”

Oh, please. The slams are all commercialized — where do you think they get millions of dollars in prize money? And I suppose the same umpires who officiate tournaments all over the world immediately become erratic and inept when they land on American soil? The infrastructure is hardly the worst, and unless I am badly mistaken you are all quite wrong to say that the USO is the only slam without a roof. The French Open also lacks a roof and is seriously impacted by rain most years. Even if they have vague, frequenting shifting, and unreliable plans to revamp or move RG, the USO remains far better in terms of infrastructure.

“In 2009, one might recall they even cut short Del Potro’s speech and denied his pleasure of his speaking on a momentous occasion when he won his first major due to TV Commercials. Such is the US Open Authorities who are totally money minded and perverted.”

No, they cut him short because he wanted to give a new speech in Spanish. It was a stupid decision and I don’t agree with it, but you’re being ridiculous.

Eric, Each have their own views and it is not necessary everyone should agree. Regarding the Umpires, you may recall that even Federer had criticised in his post match interview of the USTA recruiting “B” Grade umpires due to salary constraint. May be you skipped that interview. Ofcourse US Open is not only the one major without a roof. There is French Open too where there are interruptions due to rain. Yes, but the French Open Authorities have already initiated plans to construct roof over the Courts and planned commissioning is by 2016. The point is the US Authorities have not even opened a discussion on this and that shows their lack-a-daiscal attitude to say the least. The noise level raised during matches in US Open is probably the worst when compared to other Majors and that hardly helps the players in concentration. Therefore, I am in no way being ridiculous. Please check out facts before commenting.

Michael, I think I agree with you on everything of substance – yes, the USO should get a roof, work on its infrastructure, and so on. But I think you’re being silly with your calls that the USO (the second oldest and one of the most prestigious slams, for sure) be downgraded to a Masters event just because of a few peccadilloes in its management, and in thinking that the other slams are less “perverted” by money (except perhaps Wimbledon with their precious traditions). Well, all I can say is maybe the effects are a bit more evident from time to time at the USO, but the underlying logic of “professional” (= involves lots of money) sports is the same everywhere. Just think back to some of the spring tournaments, maybe Queens, where they forced play to go on long after light had faded just so they could avoid having to disrupt the schedule for the following day.

And if you’re going to tell me to look into my facts before commenting, you do the same. The reason the USTA hasn’t any plans to build a roof is because the engineering required would be extremely difficult and the cost prohibitive, more so by far than Wimbledon’s. It’s not because the USTA is too stupid and corrupt to follow your brilliant suggestions.

Eric, You haven’t commented about the “B” Grade Umpires recruited by the USTA due to money constraints ?? Is this how a premier event should be conducted especially so when the USTA is spinning so much out of this tournament ?? Ofcourse I agree that the entire sport is commercialized and there is no escape from it. But yet USTA invites criticism because it goes overboard with some of its ludicrous decisions like what I said earlier. If as you said, it is difficult to build roof over the Arthur Ashe or Louis Armstrong Stadium due to over capacity and sheer size, they can think over to construct the same in smaller Courts where big matches can be shifted if the need arises. The point is that the players, spectators and sponsors should not suffer due to the indecision of the Authorities. By the way, my suggestions are not brilliant, only elementary, but the problem is USTA’s indifference.

Common sense should say Novak BUT my gut says federer will win this tournament over murray. Sorry Jamie, Margot, myself, Jane etc. Just my gut feeling. Hope I’m wrong! I just don’t think Federer will allow the year to pass without winning a slam.

madmax Says:
Hopefully, no one will be disadvantaged if the tournament organisers decide to delay the open final by a day so at least all players can have some rest beforehand. How probable is this?

September 8th, 2011 at 6:16 am

I think they will do everything in their power for the Sunday final. The decision, unfortuantely, is motivated by money not what’s fair to player A or B. The organizers could care less who wins. Even if somehow Roddick came through the decision would still be money..selling tickets and TV not to favor a player or fairness.

@kimberly yeah could be,but fed got the better of nole at the fo ealier this year,so on the other hand i cant see nole letting fed get the better of him again,nole i dont think will allow the oppotunity of having the best year ever get even better by not winning this years us open,granted due to the weather i think fed and nole have an advantage over rafa and andy,but both are fighters,so time will tell.

If the organisers do still aim for a Sunday finish, that would mean 4 best of 5 matches in 4 consecutive days for either nadal, Murray or whoever else were to come through from that side of the draw. ABSOLUTELY ZERO CHANCE of that happening. The player would boycott I feel since what the organisers are asking of them is beyond the ridiculous. And no one would blame them. Most likely I feel round 16, quarters will be played on consecutive days, then a day rest after which semi final and final on consecutive days. What this means is if federer gets past tsonga, the federer v djokovic match will be the final in effect I feel since nadal, Murray have pretty much been screwed over by the schedule.

@brando its not fare i know,however it is what it is,i know im stating the obvious,but all they can do as rafa always says, is focus on there next oponent,and not to think and get too far ahead of themselves.

It’s not a secret that the play style of Nadal is more dangerous than the one of many other players.
He is very phisical, he runs a lot. Every part of his body is under a long and costant pressure.
So, of course, one match a day, best of five, is really dangerous for him.
In Italy an italian cronist said that in his opinion also the mediacal call during a match is wrong. Every player has to do with is own forces because also this is an important part of tennis.
For sure, not having a roof over the tennis stadium is regrettable, but not for the number of sequent match a player has to play.
This is tennis. Sometimes a player can arrive to the final due the retirement of other players, sometimes he has to play many match in a row.

I am surprised the hear the USO pays their umpires poorly. I have noticed a number of bad calls and some that were not overruled. I wonder how they can do this. Also, agree about the Saturday semis and then Sunday final. It is too quick of a turn around. And why have 3 different start days? Do the other slams have this? It is a disadvantage for the players who start on that third day. The commentators said something about Roddick wanting a late start (or he couldn’t get a flight or something due to hurricane warnings) but i don’t think Muzza was pleased with starting Wednesday, and one can see why, especially now.

The FO has its issues, too, without a roof, and also with the scheduling (rarely beginning before noon and yet having no lights when matches go the distance) but I here a roof is in the works there.

At Wimbledon in 2007 or 2006 didn’t Rafa and others have to play back to back 5 setters. Was there on year that Nadal had to play 3 or 4 days in a row? I do seem to recall that. But at least there is the one roof now so some matches can always progress.

Kimberly Says:
madmax Says:
Hopefully, no one will be disadvantaged if the tournament organisers decide to delay the open final by a day so at least all players can have some rest beforehand. How probable is this?

September 8th, 2011 at 6:16 am

I think they will do everything in their power for the Sunday final. The decision, unfortuantely, is motivated by money not what’s fair to player A or B. The organizers could care less who wins. Even if somehow Roddick came through the decision would still be money..selling tickets and TV not to favor a player or fairness.

September 8th, 2011 at 7:42 am

Hi Kimberley!

The reason I ask is that not so long ago, we had a similar situation here in UK, where the men’s final was played on a Monday at Wimbledon, due to the rain. (before the roof).

Unheard of I think before at Wimbledon, so if it can happen at one slam (same problems with people being at work, and the TV scheduling, etc…but the final was put on later, so if it can happen at Wimbledon, why not US Open)?

The thing that I compare this to Kimberly is the round robin events at the WTF where all players play every day and still are in with an equal chance to play in the final. No rest days in between. They cope with this pressure. (yes, I know only 3 sets).

These are top athletes, coached accordingly, fed the right food, given maximum massage, etc. I can understand the annoyance of the players. It seems unfair, it IS unfair, but these players are used to this, surely?

And doesn’t it all equalise over the year with retirements, injuries, walkovers, (think Fognini/Novak), think Rafa/Ferrer, think Federer/(can’t remember who he was scheduled to play, but then his opponent didn’t play, (Miami masters this year?) think Murray/? (margot, help!), I know that all 4 players have benefitted within the last 12-14 months from their opponents providing them with an extra day’s rest, so whilst this is unfortunate, the only answer has to be a roof and with the money made here at the most luscious and extravagant grand slam of the year, I wonder WHY they don’t build one and seem resistant to it?

Makes no sense.

I do understand Rafa’s annoyance, but he is the fittest (arguably) athlete on tour and played so many 5 setters and then the final the following day, still going on to win.

alison, yes, I remember something like that, one year when there was a lot of starting and stopping at Wimbledom. But thankfully they saw fit to get a roof!

Just checked NYC weather: it is presently overcast, but the forecast says 80% chance of participation, as well as the chance of thunder showers. I sure hope they get in the bottom half R16 matches at the least, and then everyone will be waiting to play their QF matches, including the ladies.

If what we want is a final where both players have an equal chance, the best scenario would be for the weather to close in and rain heavily from now until the end of the month, and for the tournament to be abandoned. Not likely to happen though!

hi colin nice to here from you again,hope your ok,i agree with everything you say,but unfortunatly we dont live in an ideal world,tournaments dont think about the fans,or more importantly the players only the money,and finishing the tournament on time,or as near to it as possible,take care.

IMO if they catch up and then everyone has to play back to back to back days then Fed is the one at a disadvantage if he advances due to his age ( use the Egg Fed use the Egg! ). But am sure he won’t complain.

Muller has no chance against Rafa. It seems he does but he doesn’t. His serve is all he has got, so the match seems tighter. The issue is is that he cannot return very well nor when in a rally he is outmatched overall. So there is huge pressure on his service games. Where does that leave the match? Rafa as expected in 3.

I am just so ANGRY right now. The scheduling is PATHETIC and the sucky TV channel I get called Ten Sports which covers US Open is showing ads even while play is going on. They show ads like for 15 mins and then 1 game for 5 mins, then ads again for 15 mins and the scumbugs get away with that. There is no regulation against abuse and bombarding of ads in India. Everything’s a joke and no sport except stupid cricket exists in India. And my internet stream isn’t working reliably. I wish I could sue the Ten Sports guys and put them in jail. For the final, they may only end up showing alternate sets. There are that many ads. They have raped the US Open feed.

every player is going to get old. who’s fault is that? it’s a natural progression. roger chose to play tennis at age 30 so there is no law that mandates he should get an advantage because of age. he already has the advantage in every slam in terms of scheduling. officials make sure he gets the schedule he wants. so are you saying that all players should get scheduling benefits once they turn 30 or is this a policy just for roger? if nadal plays until he’s 30, i’m very interested to know how you feel about him getting the advantage.

regardless of roger’s ranking he opens up every year so that he will get the benefit of the back-to-back off days in the latter stages. so what are you talking about? these guys get paid to play and all of them deserves respect and the best chance possible to advance, but i’m naive enough to think they will get it.

roddick and ferrer have had to leave court again and the bottom half backs are already against the wall from having to play four consecutive days in order to advance. you got the nerve to talk about roger playing back to back. who cares if roger has to play back to back! he’s no different from these other players. a bunch of hogwash!

it was a joke. not saying he should have an advantage, and I am sure he wouldn’t want one anyway. He always has taken his opponents head on, no excuses. Like you said he is 30, and he has to play with the conditions everyone else has to. Fact is he is older, so my view is his recovery compared to younger players could come into question playing back to back days, we’ll see.

Getting back to the Tourney organization, me thinks this crack fiasco and Roddick venting on National TV justly about it( for those of us who saw that )…….heads will roll after this tourney is over. This ties into the scheduling decisions also….

my point is roger chose to play a sport as does any athlete and i’m sure he knew that eventually recovery time would get tougher as he gets older and as competition gets tougher. that’s sport! eventually, it happens to every athlete.

these guys are having a tough time trying to hang in there mentally, especially those in the bottom half and i feel for them and i don’t take too kindly to anyone suggesting that the top half should get more breaks. they all have been affected by an element beyond their control. i appreciate what they do in order for us to enjoy tennis and although i am a devout nadal fan, he’s not the only player on the atp tour. other guys work hard too and deserve chances. atp needs every one of them to make up the tour, not just roger.

Tournament organizers have to schedule a tourney out and make sure it finishes within the time scheduled. Not all the time it can happen due to weather. However, I like to think there intentions are fair, but based on what I heard from Pat M. the sponsors seem to have a say for who they want to play in prime time and on what court for TV exposure. Is that fair? Debatable. This obviously sets up issues if weather comes in and you are scrambling to finish the tournament. Usually don’t like to make predictions, but I think heads will roll and a changing of some of the officials and organizers will be changed after this USO.

Looks like Rafa really upped his level in the second set? He is up to 31 winners already, 2 less than Muller, but with about one third of the unforced errors!

I didn’t get to see a lot of play yet, but just looking at stats: Muzza did what he had to to get through. Young hit 53 errors in 3 sets. Murray was by far the more consistent, steadier player. I am sure he will play differently based on the opponent.

Things are really shaping up well for Nadal. He beats Muller with a modest effort and Roddick is beating Ferrer. A Nadal/Ferrer match would be very physical, but Roddick cannot hang with Nadal off the ground for very long so he will try to end the points quickly. He doesn’t really have the power to do that except on serve so that means he will have to come to net. So really the only potential match that could drain Nadal physically would be a semifinal against Murray assuming he beats either Isner or Simon.

If Roddick can hold his lead in this set, he should definitely win the match as I cannot see Ferrer coming back from two sets down, in which case, Roddick versus Rafa in the QFs. When is the last time these two played? Seems like a long time, or no?

nice to see muzza and rafa through in straight sets,and without having to use too much energy,rafa looked more positive and hit the ball well,the stats were good with only 11 ufe,just what the doctor ordered,hes still not lost a set yet,even though hes had some tricky matches.

hi margot yipee a great performance from our little red devil,well margot i can tell you this much looking into my crystal ball,i can see two grand slam champions,and guess what one will be a male,and one will be a female,but im still wondering about those lottery numbers lol.

jane, you’re right. I just checked to be sure, and they haven’t played since the WTF (when Nadal won in a really close one). And Roddick won the encounter before that. So if his form is actually again pretty good, it should be an interesting match!

if the isner simon,rodick ferrer games go the distance,this could benefit muzza and rafa,even though they will be playing back to back to back matches, they will still have had more rest depending on how long there oponents matches go on for.

margot your welcome,tell me when you post on sunday if or when you win,lol,lol.looks like the isner simon match could be going the distance,which is good news for our little red devil,as he will be more rested,with all the rain the last two days this match was just the ticket.

Isner has really improved his ground game since the last time I paid serious attention to him. That was a great hold – a couple of clutch aces at well-chosen times, some really powerful forehands, …. reminds me of someone else, who could that be? :)

I saw Sam Stosur beat Petrova, then Kirilenko, in the grandstand last weekend. Her FH are so clean, serve is good, BH solid, I won’t be surprised if she manages to win this USO. She just beat Vera very convincingly.
Come on Sam!

Eric
I saw John at Newport this summer, had also seen him last year, two years ago. Agree, he has improved his ground strokes a lot. He had good FH, but now he has good BH too, with which he has hit few winners today, (especially on Simon’s second serve)

my take: they are used to playing best of 3′s in back to back days, which if they have straight set wins, would be not much different. The person who will be hurting is the ones having multiple or even one brutal four or five set match. If Rafa plays 4 days in a row winning all in 3, and say Fed beat Tsonga and Novak in 5, one might argue Nadal had the advantage. Or if Nadal Murray have a brutal five setter, and Novak or Fed had two five setters, would it be even? Should be interesting. As Rafa says, we will see what happens. A lot will be determined by the scoreline and duration of the matches and fitness of the particpants.

Ike, I don’t think Rafa is struggling too much anymore. Even as he went down 0-3 to Gilles Muller he was, IMO, hitting the ball extremely well and moving at least as well as ever. And then he came back to win that match 7-6 6-1 6-2. That’s pretty scary.

Simon should win this match; I’m surprised he lost set 3. It looks like he’s in a good place to snag this set, and if he can avoid a TB in the final set it should be his. (Simon sucks in TBs, especially, it seems, today.)

jamie
agree, just slight difference…Murray will win this one.
I hope to see Jo win today. I was in the grandstands when Jo hit those crazy over 130 mph serves against Verdasco. Jo is playing so well, that he might surprise Nole in semi.

Nadal will have a lousy solar year. Meaning he will underperform with his game and have injuries until next year( for the first months of 2012 included). She still sees more bright lights for him AKA another slam win.

She actually sees Murray with great results at the slams and winning. This one is shocking since Murray winning a slam seems to be impossible to believe but apparently his chart says so.

At Wimbledon in 2007 or 2006 didn’t Rafa and others have to play back to back 5 setters. Was there on year that Nadal had to play 3 or 4 days in a row? I do seem to recall that. But at least there is the one roof now so some matches can always progress.

He did actually. He ended up playing 4 or 5 days straight, while Federer being in the top half of the draw got his match in before the torrents started, and was gifted a walkover in the process, thus enjoying 5 days off (they refused to play the middle sunday despite being far behind schedule) during the time Rafa had to play everyday. He had an unfair advantage, but that’s London/NY summers for you.

Fed won the final of course.

The bottom half of the draw can only hope for more rain on the day of the final, as Nole was gifted last year.

“The infrastructure is hardly the worst, and unless I am badly mistaken you are all quite wrong to say that the USO is the only slam without a roof. The French Open also lacks a roof and is seriously impacted by rain most years. Even if they have vague, frequenting shifting, and unreliable plans to revamp or move RG, the USO remains far better in terms of infrastructure.”

Somewhere else that the US Open is behind in is responding to rain. At the French Open and Wimbledon, they cover the courts the moment the slightest bit of rain falls. When it stops, they remove the cover. At the US Open, they don’t even cover the courts, so you have to wait for the court to be dried manually by machine and by towel which not only takes a lot longer, making everyone wait, but it doesn’t completely dry the court either. It will remain slippery for a while (the same way mopping a floor doesn’t dry it immediately) and thus be dangerous to players.

Every time players walk back out to resume, they have to wait for the court to dry up, which is only exacerbated if it rains again.

Tipsa choked a bit in the tie break, but what a first set! There definitely were some incredible rallies in there, top notch playing. Not sure that Tips can keep it up for the rest of the match, though, seems unlikely…

that first set was big for Nole. i don’t think tipsy can come back and win 3 sets. this is the first match of the day w/ some teeth. a physical, draining set of tennis. the kind i hoped someone named Muller would give Nadal today.i am definitely resigning from the Gilles Muller fan club effective immediately

Eric: “No, they cut him short because he wanted to give a new speech in Spanish. It was a stupid decision and I don’t agree with it, but you’re being ridiculous.”

No. The US Open (and Wimbledon) never gives players much time to speak. You never get to speak freely. You get asked one or two questions, answer them and that’s it. Even if Del Po wanted to say something in English, Dick Enberg would have resisted him.

At the Aussie and French, the floor is yours. You don’t get asked specific questions. You can say and thank whoever you like, and there’s no time limit. Surely a player has earned that much? If they can do it, so can the US Open. Unless money really does have something to do with it..

let the jury be informed that federer wrapped up his 3rd round match up against safin in the 3 sets, while mr. nadal let soderling play for 5 sets after being 2 sets to love. ( this was the match where nadal mocked soda regarding the new balls and soda paid it back in kind by imitating rafa’s @$$ picking. at that point in time, safin was a more dangerous opponent than soda (remember the next year safin beat the joker in the 2nd round, so safin had started taking a liking to the grass, which he said was playing slower than when he started his career).

so rafa playing that match over 3 days was roger’s fault? roger took care of his business efficiently and he got a w/o in the next round.

still, you argue nadal was disadvantaged? well, in the qf, youzhny was 2 sets to love up when his back gave up and the dude lost the next 3 sets rather easily to rafa. in the semis, djokovic absolutely took rafa to the cleaners in the 1st set and then retired after losing the 2nd with some disgustingly painful blisters ( he had played 2 4hr matches in a row – 1 against hewitt in the 4th round and a 5setter against baghdatis in the qf, which novak won 8-6 in the 5th).

now tell me how nadal was disadvantaged? he benifitted in the qf and semis from the same scheduling and he came into the final via a retirement while federer had to play the full 3 sets against gasquet. who knows, maybe rafa would have gone full 5 against gasquet too. the point is federer handled is draw with aplomb while rafa made a mess of his draw ( which is par for the course for rafa at wimbledon – he struggled against gulbis in an early round in 2008, robert kendrick in 2006, petzschner and haase in 2005. while Roger hardly has early round trouble in wimbledon (except 2010, i cannot remember another year where he struggled against journeymen during the early rounds!)

so please stop twisting the facts. if any one ought to complain about the 07 wimbledon it should be djokovic fans/youzhny fans.

Djoko is playing extremely well but also extremely hard. So hard that I am concerned he will fall sick due to over exertion or injure himself. No one reads the fictitious book by Federer on how to play EFFICIENT tennis. Working so hard can take out a lot from you for the the next match.

@swiss maestro cor blimey you certainly do your homework,ive just seen my life flash before my eyes,alot of those games id actually forgotten about,i have to say i loved the roger federer quote in the church,never a truer word spoken.

USTA partly made the wise and humane choice, which is to have the men’s final on Monday, to give the players a day off

However, I think it would have been better if they had given the the bottom half a day off after they played the QFs tomorrow, coz those guys really need a day off. They’ve been going to the stadium every day this week, while the top half had a couple of days off already, and will have another one tomorrow, which means they’ll be fresh for the SFs and the bottom half will be tired. Perhaps, a better schedule, would be for the bottom half to play their QFs matches tomorrow and then have Saturday off. The both sides play the SFs on Sunday, get Monday off, then play the finals on Tuesday.

Overall, it would make for better quality SFs and finals matches, and the USTA will save face, which is very much needed.

It was great to see the bottom half guys united in this situation, and it goes to show what a little unison can do in situations which appear hopeless at times. Dunno why some of the players were being criticized for being proactive though.